SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – The driver accused of hitting a juvenile bicyclist with his car and leaving the scene in March was arrested this week, according to Winter Springs police.
On March 9, a boy was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk along State Road 434 and when he attempted to cross the entrance to the 7-Eleven plaza, he was hit by Ford Focus exiting the plaza, police said. The victim rolled over the hood of the car and his bike became lodged under the vehicle as the driver continued on, according to the report.
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Records show the boy suffered a cut to his elbow and his clothing was torn but he did not need to be taken to a hospital.
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A witness told police he saw the driver of the Ford turn into Marco’s Pizza plaza along SR 434 and remove the bicycle from under his car and leave.
Police were able to identify 49-year-old Mike Hazellief as the driver after another witness read about the incident on Facebook and told police she recognized the man as someone who comes into the Sunoco gas station to use the Bitcoin ATM.
On Monday, a Winter Springs police officer stopped Hazellief on a traffic stop. He was arrested on a charge of driving with a suspended license and transported to the Seminole County Jail.
Winter Springs police officials said the officer had been finishing up his criminal charges to send to the state attorney’s office regarding the hit-and-run case when he spotted Hazellief’s vehicle and made the stop.
Hazellief is also charged with hit-and-run with injuries and failure to appear in Pinellas County on the driving with a suspended license charge.